On Plagiarism
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 On plagiarism


Use this checklist to confirm that you have done what you can to avoid plagiarizing.

A PDF printable version is available here.


Print your name here: __________________________Class: _________________________

Print the title of your essay here:  __________________________________________

Read each of the following statements and check off those with which you are in agreement.

1. I am aware of the issues surrounding Responsible Resource Use, understand what plagiarism is ( What is Plagiarism?), and see the value in considering, learning from, and crediting other people's ideas ( Other People's Ideas).
2. I have been thinking about my topic ever since it was assigned, letting the ideas about it begin to come together even before I wrote anything down*. (Prewriting)
3. I have discussed my ideas with my instructor and/or with my peers (if this is an appropriate option) and am comfortable that I have strong points to make in my essay*. (Prewriting)
4. I have been making notes about my topic before consulting other sources.  I have brainstormed my ideas, and have come up with a working thesis and a general (modifiable) plan for organizing my essay. (See Online Outline)
5. I have written a rough draft of my essay without using any notes at all.  I have marked on that draft places where it would be useful to insert quotations from primary or from secondary sources.  
6. I have planned out my work schedule ahead of time by using a planning guide, such as an A Week at a Time planner.
7. I have organized my citation of other resources ahead of time by using WebTracks / 'NetLog Sheets and/or Research Notes sheets.
8. I have consulted other sources with the intent of finding out answers to specific questions I have devised (see number 5, above). (See Ideas and Support Planning Sheet)
9. I have used more than one other source so that my ideas can play off their different perspectives*. (See WebTracks / 'NetLog Sheets and/or Research Notes sheets)
10. Information gathered from other sources substantiates ideas I have already generated myself.
11. I am aware of and practise effective note-taking and paraphrasing techniques. (See Note-Taking and Paraphrasing.)
12. Information gathered from other sources pulls together my ideas and/or extends them, but never replaces them.  The focus remains on my own work, not someone else's.  If I think that other people's ideas are overwhelming mine, I set them aside until I can regain my perspective.  I use strategies such as "Claim - Quote - Comment" to maintain focus on my ideas.  Every time I refer to someone else's idea, I answer the question "So what?" to bring the reader back to my ideas. (See Ideas and Support Planning Sheet)
13. If it seems to me that ideas in another source are so much like my own that I could be accused of plagiarism, I have done what I can (a) to credit ideas also appearing in that source, (b) to be sure that my work stands out as having a separate "slant"*, and (c) to discuss the matter with my teacher.*
14. My note-taking focuses on key concepts from the texts.  I always include direct quotations in quotation marks.  I always keep track of my sources as I proceed.  (WebTracks / 'NetLog Sheets)  I am sure to include my own ideas about what I am reading in my notes*, keeping my comments separate from the ideas I encounter elsewhere [such as by including them in square brackets like these].
15. I ask for help when I need it.*
16. I have provided references for all sources used in the development of my essay in a bibliography as well as in the body of the essay.  This includes references to paraphrased as well as to directly quoted material.
17. I have saved copies of my work in various stages of completion, so that I can verify the stages of my own writing process if called upon to do so.

I have read the above, and understand that by checking off the points that apply to me and by signing my name to this form, I am confirming that I have done whatever possible that I can do to have minimized the chance for any plagiarism to have occured in my work.

Sign here: ________________________________  Date: ________________________________


*The asterisked ideas in the checklist above either originated at or were inspired by Misuse of Sources, from Gordon Harvey, Writing with Sources: A Guide for Harvard Students, The President and Fellows of Harvard University, 1995, http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~expos/sources/chap3.html, accessed April 17, 2001.  Others are the result of teachers' and students' classroom experiences.

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